One sunny Sunday afternoon, we meet up with BreeLayne, founder and CEO of her namesake fashion company, who comes bearing two suitcases filled with clothes for our shoot. She opens them to reveal her treasures, and starts taking out one stand-out fashion piece after the other. Miu Miu cowboy boots? Gucci fur-lined loafers? Olympia Le-Tan embroidered clutches? BreeLayne has them all! We’re super impressed (and also a bit jealous at her collection!).

In between posing for pictures, BreeLayne tells us a bit more about the history of the brand. Though only two years old, the fashion house has taken the L.A. design scene by storm from their Downtown-based studio. After studying at Pratt University for a brief stint, the designer worked for a bunch of different companies before realising her true calling: “There was something missing, there was no luxury brand with a sustainable focus,” explains BreeLayne. “Yes, Stella McCartney has that concern, but I wanted to do something intentional. As a small company, trying to be fully sustainable is really difficult, but everything we put out is thoroughly thought through.” As a result, the label only uses deadstock fabric – making their own would be a huge contributor to pollution – and for every purchase, a tree is planted through the National Forest Foundation. But don’t think the sustainable focus stands in the way of a savvy silhouette: we’re big fans of BreeLayne’s designs, heavily influenced by vintage and international cultures, for which the designer immerses herself fully during the conception of each collection: “Every season, I really want to understand the chosen concept, so I do a lot of reading, researching, often traveling,” says BreeLayne. “My launch collection was inspired by Indian culture, and this season I turned to Paris for ideas.” But always adding that L.A. twist : “Everything is really effortless. My whole concept is to be able to throw on one of my pieces with jeans or tennis shoes, and still look put together. I feel like luxury should be about ease and comfort.”

A design mindset that particularly fits in to the L.A. scene: after leaving Pratt, BreeLayne fled New York because of the difference in pace of live. “There was too much stimulus in New York. I was always like, ARG!,” laughs the designer. “I’m very low key and laid-back, so I fit in better in L.A.” She feels the design community, despite being smaller, is better suited to her way of life: “New York is definitely more cutthroat. The fashion scene here is more community-oriented. I think it’s because there are fewer designers, people want to help each other. I firmly believe that you attract what you put out.”